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International Relations Theories

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Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Elective NSLG1LP123 4

Semester and Year Offered : Winter Semester

Course Coordinator and Team : Dr. Salvin Paul

Email of the coarse coordinator : [at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites: None

Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD?

The course is offered as part of Discipline specific Core Course? (dean to decide)

International relations (IR) as a discipline in globalised society of comity nations have become integral process and practice in everyday life of people. This course will enable students to dwell into the origin and evolution of IR as discipline to examine various actors involved in the process and practice of politics, economy, security at the global, regional, national and local levels. The changing nature and practice of state, inter-governmental organisations, international non-governmental organisations, regional organisations, civil and non-state actors will constitute the prime chunk of the debates and discussions.

It prepares the students for other law courses in the programme.

  • Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course: No requirement
  • No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed): As per AUD rules
  • Course scheduling: (summer/winter course; semester-long course; half-semester course; workshop mode; seminar mode; any other – please specify) Semester-long course
  • Proposed date of launch: Dean to decide

How does the course link with the vision of AUD and the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?

The course will be offered to B.A First year students in Semester _______? as a Discipline Specific core, The course converses with AUD’s vision in engaging with the concept of law, The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the international relations, structures, institutions and process with special on India.

Course Details:

Summary:the course covers the traditional and non-traditional IR theories, critical studies and post-colonial debates along with post structural and feminists’ discourses will constitute the discussions. Institutional structures, process and practice of IR under United Nations and specialised agencies will provide understanding on how anarchy is governed through international peace and security. Regionalism and regionalisation still an unfinished project in international relations to understand its impact. The changing nature of actors in international relations in a globalised era will urge the cohort to discuss and debate on governing challenges of underdevelopment and sustainable development, global warming, migration, refugee’s crisis etc.

 ​​​​​Objectives: 

  • To enable Students to Understand the nature and process of international relations.
  • To enable the Students to understand various theories of international relations.
  •  To enable at equipping students to engage institutional structures of international relations with special reference to India.

Learning Outcomes:

On the successful completion of the course, the students would be able to

  • Gain familiarity with concepts and theories of international relations;
  • Acquire the skill set requisite for engaging with institutional structures of international relations.
  • Students will acquire various cognitive skills on issues of international relations.
  • Students will acquire Knowledge on how India participates in the process and practice of International Relations.

Overall structure

This course introduces students about concepts, theories, issues and institutional structures of international relations. The process and practices of international relations will be examined in the context of South Asia to explore India’s engagement in international relations.

The course is designed to be of interest to those who are aspiring to take the fields such as Politics, Public administration, global affairs etc.

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

The course is divided into four modules.

  • The first module focuses on the nomenclature and disciplinary status of international relations to understand its process and practice at international, regional, national and local levels. In this backdrop, what, why and how International Relations (IR) used as generic term to cover various debates at the international levels, South Asia and India in particular will be discussed.
  • The second module focuses on traditional and non-traditional debates of International Relations including the critical studies and post-colonial debates.
  • The third module focuses on what constitute structure of international relations with special reference to UN, Regional Organisations, regimes and non-state actors, trading communities etc.
  • The fourth module focuses some of the issues that are discussed and debated in international relations such as changing nature of state, nationalism, governance issues, geopolitics, Energy, science and technology etc.
  • This is substantially a research-oriented lecture-based course, which incorporates debates, perspectives and class activities for hands-on experience.

 

Module 1: Disciplinary Status of International Relations

 

 

Weeks 1-3

 

This module will discuss the nomenclature and disciplinary status of international relations to understand its process and practice at international, regional, national and local levels. In this backdrop, what, why and how International Relations (IR) used as generic term to cover various debates at the international levels, South Asia and India in particular will be discussed. In the first week, IR as a discipline at global and America levels discusses the strategies and failures in practice and process.

Topics

International relations a global discipline

An American social science

Strategies and failures

The agent-structure problem

Disciplinary History in South Asia.

Re-imagining IR in India.

Week 1

IR as a discipline

 

Essential Readings

Turton, H. L. (2015). The importance of re-affirming IR’s disciplinary status. International Relations, 29(2), 244-250.

Maliniak, D., Peterson, S., Powers, R., & Tierney, M. J. (2018). Is international relations a global discipline? Hegemony, insularity, and diversity in the field. Security Studies, 27(3), 448-484.

Baron, I. Z. (2014). The continuing failure of international relations and the challenges of disciplinary boundaries. Millennium, 43(1), 224-244.

Corry, O. (2022). What’s the point of being a discipline? Four disciplinary strategies and the future of International Relations. Cooperation and Conflict, 57(3), 290-310.

Smith, S. (2000). The discipline of international relations: still an American social science?. The British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 2(3), 374-402.

 

 

Week 2:

Agent Structure Problem

Essential Readings

Wendt, A. E. (1987). The agent-structure problem in international relations theory. International organization, 41(3), 335-370.

Doty, R. L. (1997). Aporia: A critical exploration of the agent-structure problematique in international relations theory. European Journal of International Relations, 3(3), 365-392.

Gould, H. D. (2015). What is at stake in the agent-structure debate?. In International relations in a constructed world (pp. 79-98). Routledge.

Class Activity: identify research gap from select readings

Week 3:

History of IR in South Asia and in India

Essential Readings

Zaman, R. U., & Yasmin, L. (2022). Disciplinary History of International Relations (IR) in South Asia. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.

Behera, N. C. (2009). Re-imagining IR in India. In Non-Western international relations theory (pp. 102-126). Routledge.

Module 2:

Theories of International Relations

 

Weeks 4-6

The second module focuses on traditional and non-traditional debates of International Relations including the critical studies and post-colonial debates. In the 4th week, traditional theories of Realism, liberalism and constructivism and non-traditional theories, critical studies and post-colonial debates in international relations. In the 5th week, non-western theories of international relations are being explored. 6th week explores feminist perspectives of international relations.

Topics

  • Traditional and non-traditional theories
  • Post colonial Debates
  • Non-Western IR theories
  • Feminist Perspectives

Week 4:

Traditional theories, Non-Traditional theories and post-colonial debates

Essential Readings

Slaughter, A. M., & Hale, T. (2011). International relations, principal theories. Max Planck encyclopedia of public international Law, 129.

Voskressenski, A. D. (2016). Non-Western theories of international relations: Conceptualizing world regional studies. Springer.

Caballero-Anthony, M. (2015). An introduction to non-traditional security studies: a transnational approach. An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies, 1-296.

Ari, T. (2022). Critical Theories in International Relations.

Chowdhry, G., & Nair, S. (2013). Introduction: Power in a postcolonial world: Race, gender, and class in international relations. In Power, postcolonialism and international relations (pp. 1-32). Routledge.

Epstein, C. (2014). The postcolonial perspective: an introduction. International Theory, 6(2), 294-311.

Week 5:

Non-Western IR theories

 

Essential Readings

Voskressenski, A. D. (2016). Non-Western theories of international relations: Conceptualizing world regional studies. Springer.

Acharya, A., & Buzan, B. (2017). Why is there no non-western international relations theory? Ten years on. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 17(3), 341-370.

Week 6: 

Feminist perspectives

 

Essential Readings

Wibben, A. T. (2004). Feminist international relations: Old debates and new directions. The Brown journal of world affairs, 10(2), 97-114.

Keohane, R. O. (1989). International relations theory: Contributions of a feminist standpoint. Millennium, 18(2), 245-253.

Youngs, G. (2008). From practice to theory: Feminist international relations and ‘gender mainstreaming’. International Politics, 45, 688-702.

Class activity:

Module 3

Institutional structures and Processes

 

Weeks 7-9

 

In week 7, The third module focuses on what constitute structure of international relations with special reference to UN, Regional Organisations, regimes and non-state actors, trading communities etc.

Topics

  • Actor, structure, process
  • The United Nations and globalization
  • Regional Organizations
  • Regimes, non-state actors
  • Trading communities and the networked structures

Week 7:

Actor, structure, process

 

 

 

 

Essential Readings

Franke, U., & Roos, U. (2010). Actor, structure, process: transcending the state personhood debate by means of a pragmatist ontological model for International Relations theory. Review of International Studies, 36(4), 1057-1077.

Laffan, B. (2017). International actors and agencies. Austerity and recovery in Ireland: Europe’s poster child and the great recession, 177-93.

Carlsnaes, W. (2008). Actors, structures, and foreign policy analysis. Foreign policy: theories, actors, cases, 85-100.

Braun, B., Schindler, S., & Wille, T. (2019). Rethinking agency in International Relations: performativity, performances and actor-networks. Journal of International Relations and Development, 22(4), 787-807.

Week 8: The United Nations and regional Organizations

 

Gordenker, L. (2017). The United Nations in International Politics (Vol. 4930). Princeton University Press.

Doidge, M. (2008). Regional Organizations as Actors in International Relations. Asian-European Relations: Building blocks for global governance, 32-54.

Week 9:

Trading communities and the networked structures

 

Essential Readings

Arts, B. (2000). Regimes, non-state actors and the state system: AStructurational'regime model. European Journal of International Relations, 6(4), 513-542.

Lupu, Y., & Traag, V. A. (2013). Trading communities, the networked structure of international relations, and the Kantian peace. Journal of conflict resolution, 57(6), 1011-1042.

Module 4

Issues in International Relations

Weeks 10-12

The fourth module focuses some of the issues that are discussed and debated in international relations such as changing nature of state, nationalism, governance issues, geopolitics, Energy, science and technology etc.

Topics

  • Domestic politics and Constitutional politics
  • The changing nature of state sovereignty
  • The governance problem
  • The security dilemma
  • Geopolitics
  • Science and technology

Week 10:

Domestic politics and Constitutional politics

The changing nature of state sovereignty

 

 

Essential Readings

De Mesquita, B. B. (2002). Domestic politics and international relations. International Studies Quarterly, 46(1), 1-9.

Ikenberry, G. J. (1998). Constitutional politics in international relations. European Journal of International Relations, 4(2), 147-177.

Schrijver, N. (1999). The changing nature of state sovereignty. British Year Book of International Law, 70(1), 65-98.

Week 11:

The governance problem

The security dilemma

 

 

Essential Readings

Gourevitch, P. A. (1999). The governance problem in international relations. Strategic choice and international relations, 137, 144-45.

Herz, J. H. (2003). The security dilemma in international relations: Background and present problems. International Relations, 17(4), 411-416.

Additional Readings

 

Week 12:

Geopolitics

Science and technology

 

 

Dannreuther, R. (2013). Geopolitics and international relations of resources. In Global resources: Conflict and cooperation (pp. 79-97). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Weiss, C. (2005). Science, technology and international relations. Technology in Society, 27(3), 295-313.

Drezner, D. W. (2019). Technological change and international relations. International Relations, 33(2), 286-303.

Open hour

Revision

Feedback and evaluation

Pedagogy:

Instructional design

  • The course will be a combination of lectures, thematic discussions, class activities and presentations.
  • Special needs (facilities, requirements in terms of software, studio, lab, clinic, library, classroom/others instructional space; any other – please specify None
  • Expertise in AUD faculty or outside
  • The core faculty has academic training in the field of International Relations. ​​​​​​​
  • Linkages with external agencies (e.g., with field-based organizations, hospital; any others) None
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